GE’s digital energy startup has grown its app partner ecosystem more than tenfold over the past year, adding expertise across industries like commercial real estate, retail and industrial

One year into its Daintree Networks acquisition, Current’s wireless controls are saving customers an estimated 240 million kWh annually, or enough equivalent energy to power approximately 22,000 U.S. homes

Customers across all commercial and industrial segments are increasingly adopting digital network capabilities in conjunction with LED lighting upgrades

Philadelphia, PA, May 9, 2017 – Current, powered by GE (NYSE: GE), today announced it has reached two significant milestones as it aims to lead the lighting industry’s transformation toward the digital age. Over the past year, the company has expanded its development partner ecosystem to more than 100 companies, and its Daintree wireless control networks are now installed across locations spanning 200 million square feet of space in commercial buildings, retail stores and industrial facilities. The installations are saving Current’s customers an estimated 240 million kilowatt hours (kWh) annually, or enough equivalent energy to power approximately 22,000 U.S. homes for a year. The digital networks also provide a gateway to future operational productivity benefits through the power of the Industrial Internet.

“We transform buildings into intelligent environments through their existing energy infrastructure,” said Garrett Miller, Digital Product Management & Engineering Leader for Current. “LED upgrades and wireless controls are a good first step toward future-proofing your energy management strategy, but we try to work with our customers to solve the rest of the puzzle as well, adding not only LED hardware and sensors, but also an open, connected software platform and a suite of applications that improve business productivity.”

Current combines the capabilities of GE’s energy efficient LEDs with cutting-edge sensors and software built on the power of Predix*, GE’s operating system for the Industrial Internet. In April 2016, Current acquired Daintree Networks to expand its digital capabilities for small and mid-sized buildings and enhance its intelligent lighting portfolio.

“Just as the consumer Internet of Things has transformed our homes and personal devices, the Industrial Internet is opening enormous opportunities for businesses,” said Miller. “Lighting is already one of the most important and prevalent technologies in any building, but when it’s digitally connected, customers not only gain efficiency and sustainability, but also better intelligence and higher productivity.”

Development partners are a key ingredient toward helping Current build its app ecosystem, and since launching its partnership strategy last year, Current has now added more than 100 companies to its collaborative digital portfolio. A variety of customer pilots are now underway with application experts like Teem, Serraview, Keonn, and iOffice. These partners are testing productivity applications that integrate with Current’s intelligent lighting system to aid customers with tasks like meeting room management, floor space utilization and wayfinding, product inventory and availability improvements, and visualization tools that allow for smarter decisions about real estate needs.

“Our broad ecosystem of application partners means customers are able to leverage that connected infrastructure to solve problems specific to their industry or location, and as we continue piloting more applications on our open platform, we are beginning to scratch the surface of the future possibilities,” said Miller.